Apparatus for playing games



June 25, 1929. T. FAGAN 1,718,898

APPARATUS FOR PLAYING GAMES Filed May 1 "Hm JHHJIHI Patented June 25,1929.

UNITED STATES THOMAS FAGAN, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR PLAYERS GAMES.

Application filed May 19, 1928, Serial No. 279,136, and in Great BritainMay 28, 1927.

The invention relates to apparatus for playing games and has for itsobject to provide a device whereby a game may be played in which someamount of skill will be required and a considerable amount ofuncertainty or chance will be present.

Broadly, apparatus according to this invention consists in mounting anumber of movable pieces arranged behind each other and each bearing anappropriate symbol, number or letter, etc., upon means which can beoperated so as to bring said pieces successively past a point ofobservation until the movement of said means is arrested, means beingprovided whereby the movement of the said pieces can only be arrestedwith one of said pieces lying properly in the point of observation. v

For the purpose of the invention a predetermined number of plates, cardsor the like, hereinafter referred to as cards, formed of any suitablematerial may be employed, each card bearing preferably on each sidethereof a marking 01' markings such for example as part of a number,playing card, symbol or the like and these cards are mounted and somarked that when two or more thereof are exposed to view in the sameplane in an edge to edge position a complete number, playing card orsymbol or the like will be displayed and means are provided forshutliing, changing or turning over such cards in such manner that it isuncertainwhich thereof will be displayed.

For example, said cards may be pivotally mounted by one edge thereofbetween discs carried by a spindle mounted in or on any suitable frame.Said discs may be provided with perforations adjacent the peripheriesthereof and the cards may be furnished with pins or projections engagingin said perforations so that said cards are thus pivotally mounted at apoint adjacent the edges of said discs or instead of being mountedbetween discs said cards may be mounted in a frame or otherwise.

The said spindle is preferably mounted with capability of freelyrotating and is preferably furnished with a fly or loaded wheel which isfixed thereon and means are provided for rotating the spindle andallowing the same to run freely, the arrangement being such that themomentum of the fly or loaded wheel will cause the spindle and discs, torotate and thepivotally mounted cards to turn about their pivots andchange their faces until the momentum of said fly or loaded wheel or thelike has been expended thus the particular pair of cards for the timebeing exposed to view is uncertain depending upon when said wheel stops.

In order that only one complete number, playing card, symbol or the likemay be e:\'- posed to view at one time a suitable resilient or otherfinger or other means is provided adapted to slightly retard or brakesaid cards in their pivotal movement whilst each card is marked on theback with one half of the number, playing cards, symbol or the likewhilst the other half required to complete such marking is carried bythe front surface of the card following it so that when said back isexposed in juxtaposition tothe following front of a card a completenumber, playing card, symbol or the like is displayed.

Any suitable means may be employed for imparting motion to the saidspindle such as for example ratchet or equivalent mechanism which may behand operated or any suitable motor such as an electric or a clockworkor other motor may be employed for the purpose in view. Any suitablemeans may also be provided for suddenly stopping the rotation of thespindle of the apparatus at random at any desired moment as will bereadily understood.

If desired several series of such cards, oi" the like may be so mountedupon the one spindle and such series may be connected or not with oneanother and the movement of one series might be dependent upon themovement of the other, by any suitable means. The flywheel or flywneelsmay be coupled to the spindle through suitable gearing and/ or asuitable frictional clutch which will permitthe relative position toalter or be altered from time to time.

The whole apparatus may be enclosed in a box or case having a window atwhich the cards may be displayed and means may be provided upon theexterior of said box or case for setting the apparatus in motion.

The apparatus may be employed for playing any suitable game and eachcard may be marked to represent half a number or playing card, or it maybe marked with part of any other sign or symbol or letters of thealphabet or signs of the zodiac and the apparatus may be employed in thegame of telling fortunes or as a race game or foretelhng the results ofhorse races.

.111 order that my invention may be clearly Fig. shows suitable methodof attaching the card carrying members to the rotary discs. v Referringto the drawings I have shown the invention as applied to a device forcutting a pack of cards in which by the rotation of a spindle 1 a numberof card-like pieces 2 aresuceessively brought in a plane which willexpose each card piece 2 through an opening 3v in a suitable casing 4accommodating the pieces 2. It is desired to ensure that during therotation of the spindle 1 the exposure of each card will only bemomentary until the rotation of the spindle is arrested, when two pieceswill be held in a common vertical plane, one beneath the axis of thespindle 1 and one above said axis as indicated at 2 and 2 respectivelyin the drawings. The size of the opening 3 can be such as to expose bothof the said pieces or only one, and if both are exposed the pieces 2 canbe so arranged that each exposed pair of pieces combine to make onesymboletc. to be exposed. For instance each piece 2-,can be half aplaying card, the

- opposing faces of a pair of pieces lying next to each other beingcomplementary to each other. If desired each piece can be a cornpletecard or other symbol carrying member.

The views 2 are mounted so that the r travel each with one surfaceforemost towards anda'way from the opening?) in the direction of thearrow in Fig. 3, the pieces lying behind each other. This can beeli'ccted by mounting each piece 2 in a transverse folded or channelsection strip 5, a number of which a re provided each having its endsfairly looseflyengagedm circular penmgs 7 in a palr of discs 6 fixed onthe on s of a hub member 8 fixed to the spindle 1. For this purpose nuts9may be threaded on to the threaded ends 10 of the hub member 8 and thediscs 6 interposed between these nuts and annular parts adjacent theends of the hub member 8. -Alternatively, as in'Fig. 4, the discs 6 maybe secured to the inner faces of a pair of fly wheelsll by means ofscrews 12 passed through the discs 6 into the fly wheels which areengaged over the reduced ends of the hub member 8. The fly wheels 11 canserve as a suitable means of obtaining the requisite momentum forrotating the spindle 1 'at the speed required to carry the pieces 2quickly past the opening 3, the spindle 1 being mounted in suitablebearings 13 and provided at its ends with knurled caps 14-. forengagement by an operator. This arrangement obscures the flywheels 11,but if desired the said flywheels can be outside the casing st, for instance by taking the place of the caps 11, the discs 6 in this eventbeing a rrangcd as shown in Fig. 2. Instead of two flywheels 11 only oneneed be employed for instance as shown at 15 in Fig.2.

The pieces 2 engage a resilient linger 16, which can be a curved leafspring, during their movement, and the free end of this leaf saringwhich engages the pieces is so posi' tioned that when the rotation ofthe spindle 1 is arrested the outer end of one of the picccs (i e. 2")will be held against the linger and will lie in substantially the sameplane as the piece immediately preceding it (i. e. the piece 2), theinner ends of the said two pic cs lying very close to each other asshown in Fig. 1. This linger 16 may be made adjustable.

The channel or folded strips 53 carrying the pieces 2 have radiuscdedges 5')" so that they turn easily in the apertures 7, and npsland inglugs 5" are preferably formed on the said strips for gripping the pieces2. The pieces 2 will travel more easily past the linger 16 if only onefree edge of the pieces is actually engaged with the linger as it passesthe linger. For instance it might be desirable to arrange two pieces 2in each member 5, as shown in Fig. 5, particularly when employing a packof cards, and in this event I so arrange each pair of pieces in a member5 that their free or outermost edges slightly overlap as indicated at 2in Fig. 8, the front piece extending beyond the rear piece. The channelpieces 5 maybe separate corner pieces titted to each edge of the cards,omitting the cross strip. This will permit damaged cards to be replacedby flexing the cards to engage the pivots 5 in the holes 7 of the discs(5.

The appliance may of course be worked by clockwork or other alternativemeans, and a window may be provided'in the opening 3 provided it clearsthe free ends of the pieces 2. I ,I claim 1. Apparatus for playing gamescomprising a rotary structure, a number of sign bearing plates arrangedbehind each other and each pivotally mounted at one end upon the rotarystructure and free at its other end, and a projection located in thepath of travel of the plates, arranged successively to engage the freeends thereof and positioned so that when movement of the plate assemblyis arrested the plate engaging the projection will have an exposedsurface.

2. Apparatus for playing games comprising a rotary plate-carryingstructure, an arresting stop, a plurality of sign-bearing platespivotally carried by the rotary structure having free ends successivelyengaging the arresting stop when in upstanding position during rotationof the structure, and falling by gravity on disengagement with saidstop, the position of the stop being such that the last plate to fall bygravity on leaving the stop, lies in the same vertical plane as the nextplate which is held upstanding by the stop, and forms part of an exposedsurface the other complement-a1 part of which is the stop-engaged plate.

3. Apparatus for playing games comprising a casing, an axially rotatablehub member mounted in bearings in the casing and including twospaced-apart discs, a cireumterential row of apertures in each of saiddiscs, plate-holders, each supported by the two discs and pivot-allymounted in the apertures thereof, a plurality of sign-bearii'ig platesheld by their inner edges in the plate holders, and an arresting stopsuccessively engaging the tree edges of the plates on rotation 01 thehub to retain the plate engaged by it in upstanding position, each plate011 leaving the stop falling by gravity.

4-,. Apparatus for playing games comprising an apertured casing, anaxially rotatable hub member mounted in hearings in the easing andincluding two spaced-apart discs and one or more flywheels, acircumferential row of apertures in each of the discs, plate-holderseach supported in the two discs and pivotally mounted in the aperturesthereof, a plurality of sign-bearing plates held by their inner edges inthe plate holders, and a resilient arresting finger successivelyengaging the free edges of the plates on rotation of the hub to retainthe plate engaged by it in upstanding exposed position, each plate onleaving the said linger falling by gravity to constitute part 01 anexposed surface visible through the casing aperture the comple1nentalpart of which is constituted by the stopengagcd plate.

5. Apparatus for playing games compriss ing a casing, an axiallyrotatable hub member mounted in bearings in the casing and including twospacedapart discs and one or more flywheels, a circumferential row ofapertures in each of the discs, channel-section plate-holders eachsupported in the two discs and having their ends pivotally mounted inthe apertures thereof and adapted to receive in their channels the inneredges of sign-l: earing plates, and a resilient finger adapted, onrotation oi. the hub, to successively engage the free outer edges ofplates fitted in said holders, and positioned to retain a plate engagedby it in the same plane as the last plate which has passed said finger,when rotary movement of the hub is arrested.

THOMAS FAGAN.

